Lazy Pineapple

Every dog has its day

2012-02-24T13:23:00.000+05:30

It was one of those blustery monsoon days when the Mumbai rain has washed away the filth on the road and the leaves on trees look bright and green as if freshly painted. It had been raining persistently the whole week and the road in front of our building was flooded with water. It had rained a lot and the sewers were over flowing with the downpour.

We had some friends visiting us and all of us had just finished our breakfast. The rain had let up for a while so it was relatively quiet. In this quiet, we heard the howling of a dog. Initially, we ignored it and were sitting around chatting when the howling became louder and did not stop.

I called up the security guard and found that a dog was trapped in one of the drain pipes near the gate of our building, who was creating this ruckus. On further inquiry, we came to know that it was a small dog who got swept in the drain with the rain water rain who is now lost and scared.

I immediately fired up my laptop to search for 'Dog Rescue' organisations. There was little hope of finding one which operated on a Sunday. By then, the dog's howling had reached a fevered pitch and I was worried that it should not die from fear and trauma of getting stuck.

I finally decided to ring the police and ask for help. They asked me to ring the fire department and many calls later, I was finally able to inform about the dog. Now all we had to do was to wait for the fire truck to arrive.
In the meantime I got dressed and went downstairs to check on the dog who had been suspiciously quiet for some time.

The fire truck arrived within 20 minutes of my call, loaded with firemen in their gear. They got down to the business of getting the tyke out of the drain. They searched high and low but could not find the dog. After spending nearly an hour trying to find the dog, the firemen figured out that the dog must have found a way to escape. The firemen loaded up and the fire engine tootled off among number of gawking looky loo's and a group of stray dogs.

All the while, I had this nagging suspicion that our 'howling friend' was sitting pretty with his group, looking at all of us and wondering what all the fuss was about

P.S: This experience taught me that the Fire department in Mumbai does care about stray dogs stuck in sewers. It heeds to your complaints and is there to help you. They were efficient and kind. Hats off to Mumbai Fire Department for their help.

A New Year and a New Me

2012-01-12T20:05:00.000+05:30

Well! Well! look who is out of hibernation. I know all of you must be shaking your head and tch tching at my sudden appearance. Not believing one bit that I will stick around for long. Believe me, this time I intend to do so.

To tell you the truth, I have been caught up in work and have also been a wee bit lazy about Blogging. On the personal front, life was as chaotic as cyclone Thane making me go blue in the face, followed by long stretches of absolutely not doing anything. I spent that time just catching my breath and trying to resemble an actual Polar bear.

As you can see from my blog I am a total movie buff. I spent a sufficient chunk of time watching movies in movie theatres that too alone, as my better half is happy as a bear taking a snooze cozied up in bed rather than sitting in front of a screen. What he does not know is that after I die, I am sure to come and haunt him and sing horrible movie songs. The operative word is horrible songs and not sing horribly. Which would anyway be impossible as I am known for my singing abilities.

Sadly, I saw extremely bad movies last year like ‘MOD’, ‘The girl in Yellow Boots’ and ‘Don-2’ which were all packaged in a glitzy wrapping, enticing me to spend my well earned money. I am not even wasting space on describing why I did not like them as it will mean spending my precious time on dissecting the crappiness.

My New year started with a short trip to Mahabaleshwar and meeting up with old friends. Though I wanted to spend 31st night partying hard, the whole idea of drunken men and women puking their guts out was not too enticing.

I am expecting this year to be equally good as the last one and wishing for a thinner me, getting back in touch with my old friends, working better and smarter, blogging regularly, praying for better movies, happiness, world peace and that the world does not end this year.

Here’s wishing you a Bright and Joyous New Year!!! ( I am officially not too late to wish you guys)

How did you celebrate your New Year’s eve?

Hello There

2011-07-20T12:10:00.000+05:30

Let me reintroduce myself, I am Vinita aka Lazy Pineapple. I thought the introduction was necessary since I have not posted in a long time. How have you all been? what's new in the blogging world?

I have loads to catch up on and loads to share with you too. Life has been quite hectic since I have come back to India last year. It is one year since I been back and life has been moving at a break neck speed. I managed to co-author a book, underwent a surgery and started my own content writing company.

I have already shared the details of the book with you in my previous posts. As for the surgical procedure, it was not life threatening but was routine only that I had to go under general anesthesia which freaked me out. Before the procedure I suddenly remembered all Robin Cook's books and people dying while getting operated. But I am in one piece and well.

I started my own content writing company 'Write Solutions' and have one employee at the moment and that is me :) I am still in the process of making the website and will share the details with you once I have completed it. Since then, I have written for many websites and clients in India and UK and I finally found something that I enjoy doing a lot. Content writing eats away most of my time so I had no time for blogging but now I have vowed to try harder and make time for my hobby and reconnect with all the friends whom I love reading.
I missed reading all the wonderful posts and the banter with you all.

I am currently in Mumbai and would love to meet up any bloggers who live here. Please do drop a line.

Thanks again for sticking around and reading my posts. I love ya all.

P.S: A special thanks to my dear friend Shraddha for pushing me to write again.

All about SOMETHING

2010-10-31T22:38:00.001+05:30

First of all ‘Tons of Thanks’ to all you blogger friends out there who have still stuck on even after I have been on blogging hiatus for more than 3 months now. I had a valid reason guys, I let the ‘Cat out of the Bag’ in my last post. I was so touched by your wishes, it feels so good to be a part of a blogging community which is loving, kind and appreciative.

My book was released on the 19th October in Nagpur. Published by Denett & Co., a Nagpur based publishing house. It was a an ecstatic moment for me, more so as I had never imagined that I would be writing a book in a span of two months after stepping off the shores of ‘The British Isles’. It was a dream which materialized after a chance meeting with my co-author ‘Ashutosh Shrivastava’ just three days after leaving Lancaster.

In the beginning it all seemed too hard as I was not used to the weather in India. I had to shelve all the plans to meet up friends and family in India whom I had not met in three years. It needed a lot of brainstorming with Ashutosh and tons of hours on my trusty laptop to come out with the book. I was closeted in my bedroom with my laptop missing out on all the fun and relaxation I had been looking forward too.

Since both of us have had experience in the media Industry and especially in newspaper Industry, it was the best topic to write a book on. Our book delves on the current status of the Indian newspaper industry and the radical changes it needs to adopt in today’s volatile market in order to survive. It is an easy read without unnecessarily using big words to baffle the reader. We wanted a book which could be read by any person even someone who is not from the media world.

Hey, I had warned you in my last post about me babbling about the book and most of you had promised to tolerate me.

The book release ceremony was simple and was held at a three star Hotel in Nagpur. We had dignitaries for the book release and also the keynote speech on the book after which we served ‘High Tea’ and mingled around with the paparazzi answering questions.

The book was released by ‘ Mr. Devendra Fadnavis’ MLA, South-West Nagpur who has also been the youngest ex-Mayor of Nagpur. He gave a short and sweet speech about the book and appreciated our writing efforts.

The keynote speaker was ‘ Mr. Sanjay Arora, CEO of Shells Advertising Inc. He spoke about the changing facets of the Newspaper industry worldwide and supported our beliefs about how the Indian Newspaper industry needs to change in order to survive.

It was an event which will forever stay close to my heart as I had many of my family and friends attending the function to show their support and love. The only hitch being hubs and my two sisters who were not able to make it to the function.

My mothers words are still ringing in my ears ‘You were the only women sitting on the dais amongst all this men. you have made us proud’.These words just made me forget all the hardships and sleepless nights. It was all worth it.

I am getting kinda sentimental. So before I make you tearful. Here are a few photos from the function.

The Venue of the Book Release- Hotel Centre Point,Solitaire, Nagpur

The Paparazzi :P

Me- Introducing our guests

The Book Release

Amit Mujumdar ( Denett & Co.), Sanjay Arora(Keynote Speaker), Devendra Fadnavis(Guest of Honor),

Ashutosh Shrivastava (Co-author) and Vinita Kherdekar (Me)

Family, friends and people from media industry

Mr. Devendra Fadnavis declaring the book as released

P.S: Thank you all for being such lovely people. I would love to meet up bloggers in Mumbai. Are you guys listening? You have my email id…drop me a line.

Well, I'll be damned, finally, I am a published writer

2010-10-04T00:14:00.001+05:30

I know, I know that I have been a bad girl and have completely disappeared from the blogging scene since past two months. Please forgive me for doing this disappearing act. Life dropped me smack on my bottom and I was busy trying to drag my ass towards normalcy.

Your good wishes for a safe trip home really did wonders and I am loving it a lot in 'India'. Only thorn on my side is the weather in Nagpur which is merciless. I came back when the temperature was in the upper thirty in degree Celsius which was nearly 25 degrees above what I have been used to, for the past three years. You can very well imagine me slowly getting baked.

Moving here from UK has been quite stressful with packing being the major pain in the ‘you know where’. Giving away all the stuff I had collected was the most difficult part. Each time I move I feel I leave behind a part of myself hidden in some corner of every house I ever lived. It is becoming difficult to let go of things, places, people and emotions as I grow older. There I go again with my sentimental bullshit. This is a fun blog and fun blog it will be so pardon my transgression for this one time.

It feels GOOOOOD to be back and talk to you all. I got very sweet emails and messages from lots of you asking about whether I was alive and well. I am sure I have missed really great posts on all your blogs. I am going to catch up real soon.

Coming back to the point of my disappearance, I have a HUGE news to share with you. I am finally fulfilling a dream which I nurtured while writing this blog and which most bloggers dream of. I am finally going to be a published writer.

I am the co-author of a book called ‘Newspaper –an untapped medium’. The book will be released in India very soon. But I have something to share with my friends in the meantime.

Ta-Da!!! Here I present to you the cover page of my Book.

I have been bursting to spill it all out, to all of you for quite some time now, but I had to restrain myself from letting out this secret. There are still days when I look at the book cover and wonder whether it is actually true.

Then I pinch myself hard and realize, oh yes! my dream has come true.

P.S: Please tolerate my babble about the book in the coming blog posts. You won’t be able to shut me up anyways. After all I am super excited.

2010-09-02T11:05:00.000+05:30

The winners of the Caption Contest 16 ‘You think you are funny?’

gkam: 'This is what happens when coffee runs out!'

Bikramjit: 'Life is Tough... Just three years and I am already WORN out...'

Congratulations!!!

Drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 16 'You Think you are Funny?'

2010-08-25T14:58:00.001+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please Write a Caption for the picture below :

Good luck!

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 15 ' You think you are Funny?'

2010-08-23T09:51:00.000+05:30

The winner of the Caption Contest 15 ‘You think you are funny?’

Dr. Roshan : 'OK, you guard the cookies while I find a place to hide.. hey !! weren't

there three of them ?'

Congratulations!!!

Drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 15 'You Think you are Funny?'

2010-08-19T00:12:00.001+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please Write a Caption for the picture below :

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 14 ' You think you are Funny?'

2010-08-15T23:14:00.000+05:30

The winner of the Caption Contest 14 ‘You think you are funny?’

1) Shahid Mukadam : And they say people look their best when they are asleep!!!

Congratulations!!!

Drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 14 'You Think you are Funny?'

2010-08-11T12:31:00.003+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please Write a Caption for the picture below :

This is to clarify that the chap wearing white is asleep and not mentally challenged.

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 13 ' You think you are Funny?'

2010-08-10T22:49:00.000+05:30

The winner of the Caption Contest 13 ‘You think you are funny?’
1) Rajlakshmi: 'The H(L)appy Family'

Congratulations!!!

Drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.
Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 13 'You Think you are Funny?'

2010-08-04T04:31:00.002+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please Write a Caption for the picture below :

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 12

2010-08-03T14:47:00.000+05:30

The winners of the Caption Contest 12 ‘You think you are funny?’

1) Rishi: ‘Life's perfect... except when I have to get up to pee’

2) Lakshmi Rajan: ‘Bedded to the computer’

Congratulations!!!

Drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

NRI Ki Jubaani - When a NRI Returns… Observations and Experiences

2010-07-31T20:05:00.001+05:30

As I stepped on the tarmac with tired feet and luggage which was growing heavier by the minute….I was hit by muggy and humid air which sat on my body like a wet blanket. Entering the airport terminal, the cacophony of countless voices and the jostling bodies made it all seem surreal. The sour faced policemen were herding all of us like cattle with their baton and looking down at us with disdain as if we were more of ‘dharti pe bojh’ than 'humans’. Hubs looked at me and said ‘Welcome to India’.

The word ‘NRI’ (Non Resident Indian or Non Returning Indian or Non Required Indian) lost its importance the moment ‘IT’' boom pierced the eardrums of Indians in the year 2004. The frenetic pace at which the ‘IT ‘crowd hauled abroad actually spoiled chances of ‘Non- IT’ people like us, to stand out in the crowd. Now, nearly each house has someone in ‘pardes’ (foreign land) working for a software firm or doing a Masters in USA, UK or Australia.

With the increasing economic development in India and the growth of opportunities, the tide is turning now and many NRI’s like me are coming home. This decision is met with raised eyebrows and skeptical looks by people who moved abroad many years ago and have now settled down on ‘phoren’ shores. They think it is a bad move to give up the lifestyle one gets used to while living abroad. On the other hand, my Indian brethren are doubtful of my return and are already making it their business to sniff out the real reason. Their assumption being ‘They were not able to make it big outside India, tch tch..losers, so they have come back’.

After living for 3 years in Lancaster, UK, hubs and I decided to move back to India. Since this was our first journey back home in 3 years, we were quite excited to meet our family and friends. The image of India we carried in our mind and heart was of an India which we had left 3 years ago. Though we had heard of the rapid economic growth in India, the mall culture and increasing disposable income, the cultural shock that I felt was even larger than what it was when I landed in UK.

My hometown Nagpur, was a laid back place earlier where the cows and street dogs could sleep undisturbed, bang in the middle of a main road during rush hour. Now, the cows and dogs are still there but the pace of life has become faster and flashier, standard of living has increased, wallets have become fatter and people have become very lifestyle conscious.

The steep increase in cost of things right from milk to dining at a restaurant jolted my brain so much that it did a flip inside my skull. I had to unscrew the top of my head to flip it back in its correct place. Some of these prices can now compete in the European market and even win.

After I landed on Indian soil, I realized that the things which earlier did not bother me much and also some aspects of being an Indian which I took for granted have gotten amplified by many degrees.

On one hand India has some things which are incomparable with any place and which I terribly missed during my stay abroad.

The amazing variety of food and super delicious desserts. My taste buds did a tango and jumped with joy the moment they came across exotic flavors they had missed in the past three years.
The luxury of having someone helping you clean up dishes and mop up the house. No longer do I have to worry about broken nails and aching back.
Family support and love you receive from them, help you to face problems
There is never a dull moment because of numerous festivals, marriage functions and birthday parties. Social life is alive and kicking.
Shops stay open quite late, unlike Lancaster, where the shops shut at 5 pm and the town wears a deserted look in the evening. No need to plan in advance when I want to go shopping.
The colorful festivals, colorful clothes, bollywood movies and Indian culture which attracts many people to India from all over the world. I missed ‘Diwali’ for the past three years. Gone are the days, when I would be wrapped up in warm clothes and trudging across town in freezing weather on Diwali, envious of friends having a great time in India.
Have said bye bye to depressing wet and cold weather and have said hello to bucketful of sunshine.

And on the other hand less said the better :

A few days back I was on the road driving my bike behind a shiny Mercedes Benz. Down rolled the car window, a pair of puckered lips peeped out and a splash of red Betel Nut juice colored the road. It was disconcerting to see an educated person being so callous. I feel that the education has been wasted on such people who don’t care about their own country. Not that I did not see people spitting on the street in UK, but these people were very few and far in between.

If you are bored and stressed while driving your vehicle in India, honking the horn at random frequent intervals even when the stretch of road in front of you is relatively free is the favorite pastime. Better still, when you are the 20th vehicle in a row standing at a traffic signal and the moment the signal turns green, it is your prime responsibility to keep your finger pressed down on your car horn. Because the ‘duffer’ standing first in line is color blind and the 19 vehicles standing behind him will uniformly blast their horns to let him know that the signal has changed to green.

The first day I landed in India, all sounds on the road seem to be coming out through super boom amplifiers. It hurt my ears and I realized that the noise pollution is extremely high. On my first bike ride on Nagpur roads there were quite a few times when I jumped out of my skin when a horn blasted close to my ears and my heart shot up through my throat and just about stopped falling on the road but was saved because my mouth was shut.

Indians are in a hurry to be ahead of everyone, be it at a traffic signal, standing in a queue or when getting down from a bus, train or plane. Our genes have that special something which makes us ruthless and impolite, if we see someone else getting ahead of us. We will push people, stamp on feet and have a complete disregard for normal human behavior the moment a train approaches a station or the plane taxies at the airport. These situations trigger a panic reaction and we switch on cell phones even when the sign in the plane says it’s dangerous, we will haul luggage and block the aisle in the train (or Plane) and just not care if we are disturbing other passengers.

A simple job of renewing your driving license can cause you so much grief. Bureaucracy and red tape will urge you to seek help from a middleman who will charge a couple of hundred bucks to make your life simple. Thus we get caught in the cycle of corruption.

Indians are known worldwide for these bad habits and in spite of taking such giant strides towards becoming a super power, the attitude of ‘Sab Chalta Hai’ is the biggest hurdle on our path to success.

Living on foreign soil means you have limited rights plus a totally different culture which just does not make you feel at home. The decision to move back to India was prompted by a combination of reasons. Mainly to be close to family and share our joys and sorrow with them and to explore the booming economy of India. Also, both hubs and I felt the need to belong, a desire to be identified with Indian community and culture. A desire to get back to the social circle and reach out to old friends and not feel isolated.

We landed here with such a dream in our minds to find out that our situation has become like a “laundryman’s dog” (Dhobi Ka Kutta) who neither belongs here nor there. We lost touch with friends in India and many others have moved on and we are no longer a part of their tightly knit circle of friends. We had to leave behind the friendships which we made in Lancaster, relations have scattered and language of friendship now needs an interpreter. The bright spot in this changed situation is family, which thankfully has not changed and has welcomed us with open arms.

I am confident that in a matter of months, we will learn to realign our thoughts and behavior to match with those of people here. Very soon, we will stop cribbing about the dust and the pollution. Very soon we will ask our NRI friends ‘When do you plan to be back home?’ and thus our assimilation would be complete and we would no longer be NRI’s.

Caption Contest 12 ‘You think you are funny?’

2010-07-28T12:47:00.000+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’
Please Write a Caption for the picture below

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 11 ' You think you are Funny?'

2010-07-26T22:18:00.001+05:30

Apologies for delay in announcing the winner. I am still recovering from my move across the continents. Thanks for your patience friends :)

There were so many wonderful entries this time, it was quite difficult for me to choose the winners.

The winners of the 11th edition of the caption contest are :

Ritu : "Damn! Look at his beer belly, I'll pass"

Ravi : 'Damn - They don't make it as strong as they used to :('

Congratulations !!!

Please drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you all this Wednesday for another round of Caption Contest.

Caption Contest 11 'You Think you are Funny?'

2010-07-21T18:51:00.004+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please write a caption for the picture below

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 10

2010-07-18T11:58:00.000+05:30

This is caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

The winner of the 10th edition of the caption contest is :

The NRI: 'Oh come on, SMILE....'

Congratulations !!!

Please drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you all this Wednesday for another round of Caption Contest.

Caption Contest 10 ‘You think you are Funny?’

2010-07-14T04:33:00.001+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please write a caption for the picture below

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Killerk (Clerk –1989) – A Movie Review

2010-07-12T05:53:00.001+05:30

This post has been published by me as a team member of The Wordsworth Legions for the SUPER 3 round of Bloggers Premier League (BPL) – The first ever unique, elite team blogging event of blog world. To catch the BPL action and also be part of future editions and other contests, visit and register at Cafe GingerChai

To boldly go where no man has gone before

A movie from bygone era when ‘Clerks’ or ‘Sarkari Babus’ were still honest and do gooders and thought taking Baksheesh to push paper was so not kosher. Manoj Kumar plays the part of a poor patriotic clerk called (so clichéd) ‘Bharat’ at the Ministry of Defence. The one who always had a hand on his face and has played a ‘Bharat Maa ka beta’ in most of his movies.

The movie starts with ‘Pitaji’, Ashok Kumar writhing in pain because of a heart attack. The family is distraught as they don’t have money to pay ‘Doctor babu ki fees’. Bharat comes to the rescue with the perfect medicine for a heart attack. To hell with modern medicine..if you have a couple of pencil cells and ‘Azad Hind Fauj’ ka song, you will have the patient singing and marching in no time. The doctors just fool us all with CPR and hospital bills. Daddy deario starts singing and marching in no time as the wifey and baccha log look on with pride. The miracle of a few batteries and a patriotic song belting out from the tape recorder, has you confused if the movie is actually a comedy. And then, you get introduced to a whole array of characters :

1) An alcohol guzzling, disabled and face burned in the war elder brother Ram who suspects his wife of earning a fast buck by playing hooky.

2) A younger brother Balaram and sister Tulsi who make a a doorknob look smarter when it comes to acting skills. All these characters seem to be post doctorates in the field of overacting and over reacting.

Bharat’s old flame Sneh has left him to marry Vijay Kapoor who is rich and crooked. Vijay Kapoor wants a fat government defence contract so along with Sneh he plots a plan and makes Bharat majboor into stealing a file from his boss ‘Khan’ (Defence chief) and in return pay him boatloads of cash. Bharat’s family moves into a mansion and repossesses their ‘Girvi padi Jameen’ and all izz well. Meanwhile another buxom babe ‘Pooja’ who is Bharat’s colleague is struck by constipated cupid which propels her to don gymnastics gear to seduce Bharat. She proudly says ‘I have won many cups in gymnastics in school and college’ to which Bharat replies ‘but now I would like to go and have a cup of tea (rather than see your body double do the gymnastics)’.

And then start the twists and turns in the story which make your head reel. The director has taken ‘Is kahani mein emotion hai, drama hai, tragedy hai’ too much to heart’.

Balaram robs a bank with his girlfriend, (Ms. Torn Jeans and trying too hard to be tapori) ‘Sonu’. He gets arrested and is thrown in jail.
Sister Tulsi gets raped by a gangster when she goes to him for help to get Balaram released.
Gymnastics babe is illegitimate and gets molested by her own father and kills him. Just before he dies in the hospital he transfers his property to the daughter.
Pitaji comes to know of Bharat’s treachery and finally dies of heart attack. The tape recorder and the battery cells failed to revive him this time Tchah.
Elder brother gets mighty angry when he comes to know the reason of Pitaji’s demise and wants to kill Bharat.
Balaram the bank robber clad in shiny black leather and holding a machine gun escapes from jail and saves Bharat from getting killed by Ram.
Old flame ‘Sneh’ comes back to her senses and suddenly realizes that she has been a selfish money hungry shark.
Ram finds out that Mrs.. hooky hooker is actually selling her blood to provide for his food and alcohol and becomes forlorn for suspecting her.

After all this hum di dum drama-shama, Bharat turns over a new leaf and co-operates with authorities to nail Vijay Kapoor, who has planned operation Red Rose to assassinate the Prime Minister. Brother Balaram and Ms. Torn Jeans both die helping Bharat Bhai.

Fee fi fo fum…I smell the blood of a dead scum…Vijay Kapoor is surrounded by the policia and has no place to go. He shoots his wife instead of Bharat and kills her before he blows himself up. The government is ever so thankful of Bharat for saving the Prime Minister of India.

Here are some of the cheesy dialogues which are repeated over and over again by some of the characters a la Mogambo style throughout the movie– ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’

1) Prem Chopra aka Sadhuram is a peon at the Ministry - ‘Isme mein bhi ek point hai’

2) Satish Shah – Bharat’s immediate boss - ‘Hindi mein bolo’

3) Om Shivpuri aka Jindal - ‘Beauty, Beauty, Beauty- Sweety, Sweety, Sweety’ (I kinda liked it…so poetic..)

What a thing to remind someone? eh?

Sister Tulsi with the gangster

Whoopee Doo……

I have used antonyms Bada and Chota in one single sentence,

I am so intelligent

Bharat with elder brother Ram..

Instead bashing his skull and running for her life,

this woman is inviting him over to meet her mother..

Pooja- the gymnastics seductress with father Jindal….

Even though the movie has all capable and popular actors…the story and the dialogues can only give them so much leg room for artistic output. It feels, as though the actors were held at gun point and forcibly made to act in the movie. The songs are passable except for ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaeja khushi ke geet gayeja‘ which is wonderful. Manoj Kumar as Bharat grates on your nerves with his typical histrionics and his well fed frame, belies the fact that he is from a poor family. Rather, the entire family looks well fed and healthy when they are supposed to be shown as being hungry for many days. The heroines are attracted to a man wearing a bad wig, torn clothes and zero personality which is completely unbelievable.

This movie is disjointed and fractured, it feels like a collage made by a person who has taken a high dosage of hallucinogens. The director who gave us super hits like ‘Upkaar’ and ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makan’ had lost his magic touch in this movie. You see the movie with the hope of catching the glimmer of art you had expected from such a renowned director. Each scene from this movie is a gem in itself and the transition from one scene to another is like taking a bumpy ride in an auto rickshaw on a potholed street. Even before your innards can recover from one violent jerk, you are already assaulted by another one. The entire movie feels as if the director is flogging a horse which died from laughing too hard as the first scene rolled out on the screen.

Director: Manoj Kumar

Writer: Manoj Kumar

Cast : Manoj Kumar – Bharat

Ashok Kumar- Pitaji

Rajendra Kumar- Khan

Rekha- Sneh (Old Flame)

Anita Raj- Pooja – Gymnastics babe

Mohammad Ali- Ram

Zeba- Mrs. Hooky/ blood seller

Rajiv Goswami- Balaram

Sonu Walia- Ms. Torn Jeans aka Sonu

Prem Chopra- Sadhuram

Satish Shah- Sharma – Bharat’s immediate boss

Sonika Gill- Tulsi

Om Shivpuri- Jindal

Dina Pathak- Bharat’s Mommy

Genre: Clueless or maybe Comedy

Rating: Not to be missed. Must be seen at least once.

P.S: To read posts by other members of the Wordsworth Legion in the Super 3 Round, see here: Shilpa, Pujitha, Smitha, Tavish, Kshitij, Parth and Hitesh.

Winner of Caption Contest 9

2010-07-11T18:02:00.002+05:30

I am sorry friends for not responding to your comments on my posts. I am quite tied up with packing and will read all your wonderful posts once I have safely landed in India. Thanks for being patient.

This is caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

The winner of the 9th edition of the caption contest are :

1) Hayaah: "Oh Boy! That's definitely not gonna dry when we land!"

2) Nalini: "I see dead people"

Congratulations !!!

Please drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you all this Wednesday for another round of Caption Contest.

I am leaving on a Jet Plane

2010-07-08T05:03:00.001+05:30

It is time for change and time for a new beginning. Time to pack up the whole house and move back home to India. In a week’s time I would be sitting in a Jet Plane flying back home with Hubs by my side. Right now, I am sitting squashed between mounds of clothes and the sharp book ends and knick-knacks lying around are digging into my posterior.

I have tons of stuff to pack and do a lot of scrubbing and cleaning, all that work has put me over the edge. I swear, I have just 2 strands of hair left on my head..rest are all lying scattered as I have been pulling at them in frustration.

Is it possible to be happy and sad at the same time?

I guess its possible…I felt somewhat similar when my eldest sister got married and left for Mumbai and I finally got Mom and Dad all to myself…

This is the longest I have stayed in one town, the longest in any single home and the longest at any job (after marriage) hence I am feeling a bit wistful. But I am happy too, I am excited and thrilled to meet my family and friends after a long gap of three years…I am excited to see how much India has grown and progressed. I am scared too…(I know you’re thinking, Oh lord..this woman just cannot make up her mind about how she feels)…mainly because I feel I will need to learn a lot of new things and unlearn a lot of things. Having been cut off from India, the image of India in my mind is of how it was 3 years ago.

Things I will need to learn and unlearn…

1) Stop smiling at strangers on the street ( I am not loony) : Zephyr’s post is enough of a warning ..she has found out that people do not return her smile.

2) You cannot hop skip and jump on the pavement/footpath while listening to Music: Most times there won’t be a footpath

3) People honking the horns of their vehicles as if their life depended on it is an everyday norm.

4) No need to wash any utensils, the maid will help you out in that chore..yipeeeeee

5) No more ironing of clothes…double yippee (I hate this chore)

6) ‘Mitti ki Bhini Bhini Khushboo’ (Smell of damp earth after the rains) yummy…missed it so much.

7) Garam Garam Phulkas – Maa ke Hath ka Khana (Mom’s Cooking)

8) No sweaters, jackets and boots- Hello dust and pollution…

9) Shops are open till late and do not close at 5 pm.

10) Restaurants will serve authentic Indian Food…dying to bite into a Rossogulla (Indian Sweet).

11) Will not look forward to Summer anymore..but look forward to Winter.

12) Get used to the sound of fans whirring overhead and dispelling air around.

13) No need to shut windows and check if they are locked each night before going to bed.

14) Wear open toed sandals, no socks…cracked heels.

15) Cheaper haircuts, facials and manicure- I am loving it…

16) Too many people….claustrophobic…

17) Yummy roadside food…

18) Meeting friends…

19) Jobless…for the time being…

20) Mosquitoes.

21) Vehicles will not stop for you when you want to cross the road.

22) Cannot curse in Hindi…everyone knows the language :)

23) Milkman, laundry Man, Maid…everyone ringing your doorbell (I actually did not miss this in UK, it was a pleasant change).

24) No need to use the dryer to dry clothes..just hang them on a line…

25) The most important – Meeting family…and getting pampered by parents and in-laws.

I guess, the list is endless..

My heart is heavy too…I am saying goodbye to people who have been kind and generous to me. They have been like a family in this far off place and I will miss them. I will never forget the lessons life taught me in this country and helped to become a person I am today.

There's nothing that's so final about leaving
Even though I know that's what you've heard
Just like forgive, forget and try again
Goodbye is just another word.
- Lobo

Caption Contest 9 ‘You think you are Funny?’

2010-07-07T04:31:00.001+05:30

This is a caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

Please write a caption for the picture below

All the Best.

P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check here.

Winner of Caption Contest 8

2010-07-04T04:31:00.001+05:30

This is caption contest ‘You think you are funny?’

The winner of the 8th edition of the caption contest are :

1) Rosebelle : “Super hero and super broke, hope no one sees me doing this...”

2) Laxmi Gopa : "You think crime doesn't pay - well neither does crime fighting."

Congratulations !!!

Please drop me a mail at and I will mail you the trophy.

Hope to see you all this Wednesday for another round of Caption Contest.